It Ain’t Me Babe
Not just Jim Morrison and The Doors were asked to change some of their more suggestive lyrics to adhere to The Ed Sullivan Show’s more traditional sensibilities. Morrison undoubtedly took a risk by using explicit language, but some of these censorship requests caused conflict before the acts even took the stage. For instance, it was requested that Bob Dylan, a rock musician, moderate some of his more overtly political material before appearing on the program. Dylan resisted doing so and ultimately decided to leave the performance right after the dress rehearsal.
It Ain’t Me Babe
Keep On Rolling
Not all of the performers on Sullivan’s show, though, reacted negatively to having some of their naughtier lyrics edited out or entirely removed. During the course of the program’s run, The Rolling Stones made several appearances, and they were requested to change the lyrics to their song “Let’s Spend the Night Together” to “let’s spend some time together.” Jagger complied with the request, but it was pretty clear from his outward expression on stage during the performance of the new lyrics how he felt about it. Along with the band’s untidy appearance, this earned Ed Sullivan’s wrath.
Keep on rolling
